When You Fall
by CrimsonRaana
Summary: Deb and Dan are divorced. Nathan feels as if his life is falling apart. Dan will not give in, and he takes Deb to court for custody of Nathan. Nathan runs to the only place in which he feels secure.
1. Struggle and Doubts

When You Fall  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters.  
  
Author's Note: This story will be mostly Nathan/Haley as for pairings, but other characters will be included. I know it's sort of short, but this is just the beginning of the story.  
  
Chapter 1 - Struggle and Doubts.  
  
Haley sat at the small desk in her room. She stared blankly at her computer. Though she tried very hard, she could not sit still. The suspense was killing her.  
  
Nathan and his family were in court at this very moment. The parent that Nathan would be living with was going to be decided by a judge. Today. It was a heavy decision for the judge, whether he knew it or not, because a lot of Nathan's life depended on this, a lot of it.  
  
She lifted her gaze and looked around her room. Stuff was strewn everywhere. There were books on her bead, a few articles of clothing lay still on her floor, stuff was just everywhere. In fact, that was how she came into her room. She had gone to her mom to ask for something to do to keep her mind off the trial, and she had been sent to clean her room. Sadly, it had not been a distraction, not even for a short while.  
  
She fiddled with a pencil that had sat motionlessly upon her desk almost moments before. She tapped her feet on the soft carpet of the floor. She was terrified, and she wasn't going to deny it.  
  
She felt horrible for Nathan. She wished that he did not have to go through all of this. If this was killing Haley, it had to be killing him too.  
  
But Haley had to stay at home and wait. There was nothing she could do besides wait here until she received a call from Nathan. She hated the feeling of helplessness, yet she couldn't seem to escape it. She desperately wanted to be there.  
  
It was noon, and Nathan wouldn't get out of court until two o'clock this afternoon. She wasn't sure if she could wait that long.  
  
She tried not to think of the possible outcomes. She tried, on numerous occasions, to reassure herself that the judge would see Deb as the better parent, which she was, and, therefore, rule in favor of her. That would be the better life for Nathan and she knew it. Everyone knew that.  
  
It was the other possibility that was bothering Haley. The possibility of Nathan having to live with his father was terrible. She hoped that the judge would see Dan's true colors, the ones he always hid when important people were around. Dan was a powerful man who stopped at nothing, and that may have been what scared Haley the most.  
  
In her room, she heard the shrill ring of the phone, but made no move to answer it at all. She was not really in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. In fact, she was so nervous, so afraid that she figured she wouldn't even be able to talk right now. She wasn't sure if she would be able to find her voice. She didn't even know if she had one anymore. It seemed to be lost inside of her.  
  
She quickly jumped up from her desk, suddenly wanting to be moving, walking around. She had a lot of tension and energy built up inside of her.  
  
She almost fell, as she had gotten up too quick. 'I'm so scared I can't even walk straight.' she thought. "When will this misery end?"  
  
She spoke to no one in particular as she began to pace around her room.  
  
Please review and tell me what you think. Next time: -Haley receives a visitor. 


	2. Dark Horizons

When You Fall  
  
Author's note: Thanks for reading and for the reviews.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters.  
  
Chapter 2 - Dark Horizon  
  
bCOURT/b  
  
Nathan sat silently in a chair off to the side. He seemed upset, and he had reason to be. This case was not going as well as he had hoped it would.  
  
He was not allowed to say a word. He was angered at that, he thought he should be able to voice his opinion.  
  
He looked out the people sitting and watching the case. Almost all of Deb's family had come to support her. On the other, as Nathan looked over to Dan's side of the court room, he saw no one. Nathan laughed quietly. No one believed in Dan anymore, and they had no reason to.  
  
When he looked back over to Deb's family, he noticed something. Not everyone there belonged. Keith Scott, Dan's older brother, was sitting among them.  
  
Then, Nathan noticed their faces. Everyone, except Keith who kept giving Nathan an occasional glance, was intently watching the judge. No one seemed to care about Nathan, or what he wanted.  
  
He wanted to run. He wanted to flee this place and never some back. He felt trapped in his own life and he saw no way out.  
  
His thoughts turned to Haley. He would give anything to see her face, to be with her and to hold her right now. She was the only one that kept him sane. She was the only on e he woke up everyday for. She was the only one keeping him seated and silent in the court room. She was his life, and he loved her.  
  
The trial was not going well. Dan had put on a mask, fooling the judge into thinking that he was the better parent.  
  
Lies, it was all lies.  
  
Dan's lawyer called Deb up to the stand. She obediently followed. After a few questions, though, an argument broke out.  
  
"You were never home to take care of your son." He shouted angrily at Deb.  
  
Deb glared back at him and responded "You were never home either!"  
  
"You never asked about Nathan, about how he was doing in school, or in basketball, or at all! I'm beginning to think you didn't even care."  
  
His words stung Deb pretty hard. It hurt to hear him say that, yet deep down, both of them knew it wasn't true.  
  
"I did care about my son, I do care, you were just too busy pushing him to be perfect to notice."  
  
Silence was what surrounding the arguing pair. Everyone was too shocked to say anything.  
  
"Well when you finally decided to be home, you go and take over Karen's Café!" Dan retorted.  
  
"I was helping out a friend, you know, something you've never done before."  
  
"Oh, come on, this had nothing to do with me."  
  
"This has nothing to do with you?" Deb yelled angrily. "This has everything to do with you! When I was home, I witnessed Nathan going from bad to worse, all BECAUSE of YOU. I tried to help him, but you had messed him up so much, he didn't know how to respond. YOU are responsible for all this."  
  
"I am, am I?" Dan said, his voice dripping with hate. He wore a malicious smile upon his face. He was determined no to lose his son. "Well ever since you have been at the café, Nathan has been improving little by little, even his grades are going up. He is getting better because of me."  
  
He had pulled the last straw with Deb, that was it. She was annoyed. She could not believe she had once loved this man. "You know that chan-" she began, but was cut off.  
  
"That was because of Haley, dad, NOT YOU!" Nathan shouted as he jumped up from his chair. He could not take it anymore He was not going to let this happen. He was furious and could not contain his anger any longer. "You did no-" He was cut off as well, but this time by the judge.  
  
"ENOUGH." He roared angrily. "I have heard enough of this. You, sit down and be quiet, like you were told to do." he said, pointing at Nathan. Nathan glared at him, but did not dare to disobey.  
  
The judge continued. "That is enough out of you two. Deb, please go back to your seat." She, too, obediently got up and went to sitting beside her lawyer, who was staring at the judge in disbelief. He had never seen such an unfair judge. It was horrible.  
  
Nathan was fuming. His mom had not had a chance to explain. His dad probably had this all planned out. Nathan thought a judge was suppose to listen to both sides, and try to find fairness, but this one obviously didn't.  
  
Author's note: This was longer, hope you enjoyed it. 


	3. Light in a Dark Hour

When You Fall  
  
Chapter 3 - Light in a Dark Hour  
  
Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters.  
  
iHaley's House/i  
  
iOn the Phone/i  
  
"Hello?" Heather James said as she placed the white cordless phone to her ear.  
  
"Hi Mrs. James." Lucas said politely.  
  
"Oh, Lucas, how are you?" she asked one of her daughter's best friend.  
  
"I'm okay, thanks." he responded. He was beginning to get a little impatient. Mrs. James was known to talk on the phone for a while and usually Lucas wouldn't mind, but this time was different. He wanted to talk to Haley and see how she was doing.  
  
"Is Haley there?" he kindly inquired of her.  
  
"Yes" Mrs. James began "she is here, but I'm not sure she will be willing to come to the phone. It would probably be better if you came over to talk to her. Maybe you can even help her feel a little better." she replied. Worry was evident in her voice, yet she seemed slightly relieved that Lucas had called and wanted to come over and talk to her daughter.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right over." he answered. He then said goodbye and hung up the phone.  
  
Now he was worried as well. If she didn't want to come to the phone, than that might mean that she was worse off than Lucas had hoped. He quickly grabbed his jacket and headed towards the door. He was stopped by his mom.  
  
"Where are you?" she asked him. He wasn't in trouble, she just liked to know where her son was.  
  
"I'm going to Haley's house." he answered quickly. He received a questioning look from Karen, but didn't really want to tell her everything. She already knew about the trial and he thought she would eventually figure it out. "I'll talk to you later." he said as he ran out the door.  
  
iHaley's Room/i  
  
Haley was lost in thought once more as she continued to pace around the room. 'Only one more hour' she thought as she glanced over at the clock. 'then the wait will be over and I can see Nathan again.'  
  
Her back was facing the door when Lucas came in, so she didn't see him open, walk through her door and approached her.  
  
"Haley?" he called from behind her turned back.  
  
She quickly turned around at the sound of someone else that she didn't know was there. "Lucas." she said emitting a small sigh of relief. She walked over and hugged her him lightly. His presence seemed to comfort her somewhat.  
  
She let go and walked over to sit back down at her desk. She turned to face Lucas who sat on her bed. They both wore matching expression. Each was worried, for different reasons though.  
  
After a few moments of tense silence, Lucas finally decided to speak. "How are you doing Hales?" he asked. He spoke slowly, as if he was being cautious. He didn't want to touch a nerve.  
  
"I'm scared for him, Luke." she admitted, and it was the honest truth. Tears suddenly began to fill her eyes.  
  
"Haley, everything will be okay." he said in a soothing tone.  
  
"How do you know?" she asked quietly. Her tears threatened to spill.  
  
"Deb is a great mother and the jury will see that. Dan will not win." he responded. His voice lacked the confidence that Haley needed, though.  
  
A single tear rolled down her cheek. She stood up and moved over to sit down next to Lucas, who put an arm on her back for comfort.  
  
She slowly reached up and wiped away her tear. She had to be strong for Nathan, that she knew. He would call soon and maybe even tell her that she worried for no reason at all. No matter what, she would not give in to her biggest fears.  
  
"Thanks for coming Luke." she said as she straightened her back and sat up.  
  
"No problem Hales." he answered sincerely. 


	4. When Life Gets You Down

When You Fall  
  
Chapter 4 – When Life Gets You Down  
  
Court Room-  
  
The air was filled with silence. No one said a word. The atmosphere was thick with tension. Everyone was nervous and afraid, especially Nathan.  
  
Nathan was restless. He just couldn't sit still. He kept looking at each of his parents in turn, glaring particularly at Dan.  
  
As he watched each of them for a moment, he was began to think that this case meant more than receiving custody of him. He felt that there was something else, something more involved. He thought that it could have been a long expected fight between Deb and Dan that had just been building up over the years. Sadly, Nathan began to feel as if he was just the prize for whoever won.  
  
Thinking back over what had happened during the trial, Nathan began to feel sick to his stomach. Dan had been a jerk, as he usually was. But this time, he had been a jerk to his ex-wife instead of Nathan. While Nathan had to admit that it was a relief for him, he knew that his mom didn't deserve to be treated that way. Deb deserved someone better than Dan.  
  
Pulling himself out his thoughts, Nathan looked around the room once more. He noticed a few nervous glances being sent his way as if people were trying to comfort him.  
  
Well, it wasn't working.  
  
He fidgeted in his seat as he glanced at the door in which the jury had left. They had been gone for a while now. Nathan didn't know if that was a good sign or not. He wondered what was going on in there...  
  
Jury  
  
"I just don't think it is a good idea to give Dan custody of Nathan. The way he talks and what he says just seems fake, as if he is trying to hide something." A woman said. The other members of the jury sighed angrily. "I think Deb would provide a better home for him." she added, shrugging slightly.  
  
They had been in that room for what seemed like hours. Everyone was annoyed. Anything and everything aggravated them and they were frustrated.  
  
To everyone's surprise and dismay, another member sided with the woman. "I agree with her. Dan just doesn't seem like a trustworthy person." His comment was followed by more angry sighs.  
  
The argument continued like this for a good twenty minutes. A few other people expressed their opinions about Dan. It seemed as if the jury was split dead even. Some people saw Dan as a hardworking, confident man, which would be a good influence for Nathan. Other people thought Dan seemed fake and that his self confidence would hurt Nathan and possibly even make him feel inferior to his father. They just couldn't seem to agree.  
  
After going over the case once more, they decided to take a vote, majority ruling.  
  
The result was surprisingly close.  
  
Court Room  
  
At least 45 minutes had gone by before the jury reentered the court room. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they sat back down once more.  
  
"What is the jury's verdict?" he asked quickly. He seemed disinterested and eager to end the trial.  
  
One man from the jury answered the judge's question. "After a long and tough deliberation, the jury finally reached an agreement." he paused. The tension in the room grew as he left them all in suspense.  
  
The judge looked like he was going to fall asleep if he didn't finish his answer soon.  
  
The jury member inhaled deeply before he continued. "Dan will receive custody of Nathan."  
  
Everyone holding their breath exhaled. The family sitting on Deb's side wore disheartened and defeated expressions. Deb immediately broke down into tears. The judge did not look surprised in the least.  
  
Nathan was horrified, absolutely horrified. He could not believe what he had just heard. He felt as if he had suddenly reached the end of the tunnel, or the end of his life.  
  
Happy that they would finally be leaving, the judge said "The court rules in favor of Dan Scott. Court dismissed." His was lacking enthusiasm.  
  
Dan smiled maliciously as he looked from the judge to his lawyer, giving his lawyer a small pat on the back.  
  
Nathan jumped up and ran out the nearest door before anyone could stop him. 


	5. Comfort and Security

When You Fall  
  
Chapter 5 – Comfort and Security  
  
iHaley's House/i  
  
Still no word from Nathan.  
  
The clock read 2:20 and still Haley sat in her room, twiddling her thumbs nervously.  
  
Lucas had left a little over a half hour ago, after Haley told him she would be fine and that he should go back home. Part of her wished he hadn't left.  
  
The anticipation was really beginning to get to her. She didn't like surprises and she couldn't stand long waits. Nathan had said that he would when they got out of court, which, according to him, should have been 20 minutes ago. Yet he still hadn't called her.  
  
Haley sighed in frustration as she flopped down onto her bed, She groaned angrily, just wishing that he would call.  
  
It was then that the doorbell rang.  
  
Haley jumped up and ran out her room, bounding down the stairs to the front door. She desperately wanted a distraction, anything to take her mind off of Nathan.  
  
She swung open the door. A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips as she looked up into the face of the person in front of her. There stood none other than Nathan Scott.  
  
iBack in the Court Room/i  
  
Deb still stood where she had sitting the whole time. Tears steadily streamed down her face. She was now being comforted by her family.  
  
No one seemed to notice Nathan's quick departure, not even Dan  
  
Keith had run off after he saw Dan head for the exit of the court house. He was disgusted with his little brother's behavior.  
  
Dan had quickly walked out of the court house. He waited outside, figuring Nathan would just meet him there. He had no idea that, by now, Nathan was half way to Haley's house. He was thoroughly surprised when Keith walked up.  
  
"Hey there big brother." he said, smiling as if nothing was wrong. "Did you see the trial? See how I made Deb look bad?" he asked him happily. A small frown crossed his face as he noticed the expression of anger upon Keith's.  
  
"Yes, Dan, I did see the trial." he replied curtly. "But I had been sitting on Deb's side." He paused for a moment, seeming to pick the words that would anger his brother the most. "You know, you might have noticed that if you hadn't been so caught up in your lies."  
  
Dan was surprised at Keith's anger and hot temper. "Yeah, but I won custody of Nathan. We get to keep him in the family." he answered, smiling still. He spoke as if he was trying to make Keith understand, like Keith was the one in the wrong.  
  
"Dan, what is your problem?" Keith shouted angrily. "Can't you see that Nathan doesn't want to live with you?"  
  
"What do you mean he doesn't want to live with me, of course he wants to live with his old man." I'm the better parent to live with." Dan responded, his own temper rising. He just couldn't see what the big deal was.  
  
"That's just it Dan, you're NOT the better parent, but, once again, you're to caught up in what you want to see that. Not once have you thought of what Nathan might want, not once. Now, all because of you, Nathan has to live in hell for the rest of his life. Wow Dan, you sure are a good father." Keith's voice dripped with frustration, indignation and sarcasm. Not wanting to even look at Dan anymore, Keith stormed off.  
  
Dan stood there in shock for a moment. He really didn't know what he had done wrong. He had won custody of Nathan, which he had set out to do. Why couldn't anyone see that he was trying to help Nathan?  
  
Little did he know, he was doing the exact opposite, he was hurting him.  
  
iDeb's House/i  
  
Deb and her family had left court immediately. Instead, they had gone to her house.  
  
The room was uncomfortably silent. Everyone was shocked and no one really knew what to say to Deb. All they knew was that the trial wasn't fair. The judge hadn't even given Deb a chance to speak. And what about Nathan? He was sixteen years old and was entitled to his own opinion. Why hadn't they let him speak? Most of Deb's family had thought that what Nathan wanted would have been a big influence in the jury's decision. Clearly they had been wrong.  
  
Deb sat stock still in a chair in the corner of the room. She was looking out a nearby window and seemed to be staring at something way off in the distance. She didn't feel like herself. She felt alone, abandoned. She wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. She wanted to hide from the world, hide from all the recent events and hide from her husband. She wished her world would just disappear. 


End file.
